


The Long and Winding Road

by Stefanyeah



Series: Tooth And Claw [7]
Category: Muse (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2015-04-29
Packaged: 2018-03-26 09:24:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3845662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stefanyeah/pseuds/Stefanyeah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Search for the Library Obscura</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Long and Winding Road

**Author's Note:**

> At long last, we continue with the Bingo Cards! :O You almost forgot about the werewolf nymph and his hunter mate, didn’t you?
> 
> This one sat started and unfinished on my phone for so long. So I finally sat down and finished it within two or three days with the help of googlemaps. :P
> 
> This is my fill for „Journey“ and I wanted to try doing something different. Might have been influence by Dracula (that I _still_ haven’t finished yet…) in how the story is told.
> 
> The title of course is nicked from the Beatles song.

If you are interested in the history of the relationship between nightly children and humans, you have heard about Matthew Bellamy and Dominic Howard before. At that time an unlikely couple, documents suggest, that this was indeed the first partnership of a nightly child and a human hunter. You will have heard stories about loyalty and betrayal, love and hatred, superstitions and tolerance. There are as many stories as there are people telling them, and it has become near impossible to distinguish between truth, enhanced truth and fiction.

But that's not what I will talk about. What's interesting to us, you, dear reader, and me, is a chapter that's not very well-known yet; a chapter small enough to be nothing more than a brief paragraph, a mere sentence even.

For some reason, it's vastly unknown that they indeed searched and found the Library Obscura. Maybe it's because the legend surrounding this very special library has fallen out of common memory and interest.

But I digress, dear reader. 

What makes this specific couple so interesting for us, is the fact that they are among the very few people who managed to actually find the Library Obscura. And luckily, after long years of research, I've found records, diaries and other material of their successful search.

What follows now are transcripts of a few audio files and pages from diaries, newspaper articles and early blogs that tell us of a journey exciting and spectacular.

The audio transcriptions are as verbatim as possible.

 

_Transcription from audio file labelled September, Friday 6th_

Car noises are heard in the background of two male voices talking.

"Return a book. How funny, how to return a book to a library that you never set foot in?"

"Why don't you ask a librarian?"

"I just did, didn't I?"

"Cheeky." Laughter accompanies the answer. “We'll have to be moving for the following two weeks. Whoever made that rule sure had a lot of time and funds on their hands.”

“And the the library will just pop up randomly?”

“Of course not. You'll have to be in the right place at the right time.”

A sigh. “Of course. And there happens to be a map, surely."

More laughter is heard over the ticking sound of the direction indicator. “That'd be to easy. People could _find_ the library. It's somewhere by the sea.”

“How do you know?”

“Librarian, remember? There's a lot of latent knowledge a werewolf librarian can inherit.”

“I just accept that as a fact and not ask any further questions, shall I?”

“Excellent decision, my most beloved mate.”

Another sigh. “Can you at least reveal where we'll find a book to return?”

“Would you believe me if I told you that I always carry it with me?” The motor sounds die and belts clicking open are heard.

“How?” 

“Long story, as they say. My grandmother was a librarian, too. She raised me into this…”

The sound of a doors falling shut ends the sentence prematurely and silence is heard until the tape stops, only broken by crickets and the howling of wolves.

 

 ** _Nightly Terror returns to Thisted_**  
**Merle Sørensen** Klitmøller  
Published on September, Saturday 7th in the Thisted Dagblad

It had been a long time that our little town had been free from the reigns and terror of those gruesome children of night. Our grandparents had fought to exterminate and drive out the threats of those vampires, werewolves and elves to guarantee our generation a peaceful and save life.

But after last night's events, we have to ask ourselves, had it all been for naught? Do we have to fear for our children again? Do we have to fight the battles of our ancestors again?

A disconcerting occurrence happened at the Klitmøller Kro & Badehotel last night.

Noomi Olsen, who manages the hotel at the dunes together with her husband Meinhard Olsen, called the police yesterday night when she noticed a trespasser in their backyard.

“It was blood chilling,” Olsen told us. “I saw something skulking through the tables and chairs in the backyard. It was a dark shadow and when it triggered the motion sensor of the lights, I saw it clearly.

“It was a beast, covered with thick, dark fur, huge yellow teeth coming out of the snout. The eyes were bloodshot and when it looked at me, I saw hatred and bloodlust in it.”

Police quickly arrived within 15 minutes and tried to detain the creature. Kommissær Poulsen reported that what they chased over the dunes was, although human-shaped, mostly animal. According to him, the descriptions given hinted at a werewolf.

Police forces chased the werewolf all night, mocked by the howling that sounded over the beach and dunes in the pale fullmoon light. In the end, police was not able to detain the beast and had to give up the hunt at daybreak.

Further research revealed that a team of two English hunters spent last night at the Klitmøller Kro & Badehotel. When questioned about their involvement with last night's events, they admitted to indeed hunting an elusive werewolf and that they had come to this town with the suspicion of finding said beast.

Confronted with the question why they wouldn't leave Danish werewolves to Danish hunters, they refused to reveal further details and referred to the headquarters. They left Klitmøller shortly after our interview, stating that the werewolf in question never stays in one place for more than a day.

So once again, we're left to our own devices. Keep your handed down silver knives and bullets close at night. You might need them to keep your family safe.

 

_Diary Matthew J. Bellamy  
9th September, Monday_

Bloody cold.

I should have taken the weather into account before starting the search for the Library Obscura. I just don't grow enough fur to run over dunes and beaches at a Danish autumn night.

We took the day off and are just staying at the cheap hostel we found slightly outside the city. I can't drive all day in my current state and Dominic still has no licence.

He also threatened to tie me up tonight and gag me so I would stay inside without drawing any more attention. I'm not quite thrilled about that, even though he promises to make it worth my while.

But in the end, he's right. I should not risk another night outside. And he surely always made it worth my while.

 

_Diary Matthew J. Bellamy  
10th September, Tuesday_

Still cold. Still staying at the hostel in smelly bunk beds. My wrists and ankles are still chafed after last night’s rope restraints.

At least full moon is over for this month and with my mate’s care, we should be able to continue tomorrow.

 

_Transcription from recorded phone call labelled September, Wednesday 11th  
Participants: Marshall Redmond, Captain Howard and Lieutenant Bellamy_

M. Redmond: Howard, do you know who called today?

Capt. Howard: No, Sir.

M. Redmond: A certain Merle Sørensen. Does that name ring familiar?

Lieut. Bellamy: That’s that nosy Dagblad reporter from Klitmøller.

Capt. Howard: You remember her name?

Lieut. Bellamy: She shoved her card into my hand before pestering me with her questions.

M. Redmond: And why do I have to learn about you mobilising half a municipality’s police force through press enquiries?

Capt. Howard: She’s only writing for a small, local newspaper. I didn’t think she’d go through all the official channels for more statements. We only stayed there one night and there was no further fullmoon incident.

M. Redmond: You didn’t think… Howard, you are aware that I have to send a hunter to Klitmøller.

Lieut. Bellamy: We told that nosy reporter that we’re already chasing that werewolf.

M. Redmond: I know. And she’s quite adamant about Danish werewolves being hunted by Danish hunters. Sørensen didn’t buy the excuse about you hunting that beast through a few countries. If I may quote her: ‘If your English hunters can’t track down a bloody werewolf in England, Norway or Germany, it may be time to hand the job to a Danish hunter.’

Capt. Howard: You can’t send someone. They’d easily find us.

M. Redmond: You better be creative. And if that bloody ring kills another hunter, I’ll have you on the wanted lists. I can cover you only so much.

Capt. Howard: Yes, sir.

 

_Frode Bøgh, www.varulv-blog.de_  
Published at 15:35AM, September, Thursday 12th  
**The Truth will be revealed soon**

I knew the children of night would return to Denmark one day. As you know, I was preparing, biding my time and reading the signs. I transcribed the Thisted Dagblad article a few days back and since then I’ve been busy.

I will report in more detail once I’ve tracked down the werewolf. Or what the officials think is a werewolf. I had a look at the police reports and those imbeciles wouldn’t be able to tell a werewolf from a leprechaun.

They describe a beast with muzzle and wolf ears, covered in fur and sporting a tail. They also describe a form that’s distinctly human. A fully morphed werewolf at fullmoon has nothing human about it. This ‘werewolf’ is a half-breed and whatever the other half of it is, it must be strong and powerful to hinder a full transformation.

I’m on a hot trail right now and I’m positive that I’ll find the beast tomorrow. I’ve crossed the borders and left Turku behind, following the Valtatie 9. Please excuse me for not telling you more yet, but I’m afraid. As long as I can’t be 100% sure about my suspicion, it’d be fatal to voice it publicly.

I also dread to think with what I’ll be met once I face the beast. But I’m prepared. I’ve got phials of holy water, a crossbow and a gun and silver ammo for those. I also took the silver hunting knife of my great grandfather with me. He slew many a werewolf, vampire and even a succubus with this knife.

Whatever this beast is, I will kill it and present you it’s head.

 

_Diary Dominic J. Howard  
September, Friday 13th_

Matt is still in the bathroom and I can hear him retching out his soul. I dressed the wound on his arm and carried him towards town where we found a room giving false names. I try not to let it show, but Veren Rengas still creeps me out. If someone spills the blood of their clan, they’re without mercy or reason.

This time, reasoning hadn’t stopped them, and even Matt’s screaming at them to let the kid go was futile. I can still hear them whispering and hissing at the boy, calling him a murderer. I… I cannot describe… no, I don’t want to go back those five hours and relive the scene.

We must be more careful and I must protect Matthew better, else there will be more people ripped to shreds by that nightmare ring.

I kept the driver's licence to burn it separately. It seemed like a respectful thing to do, giving the boy a name and an age before he disappeared completely.

Frode Bøgh, 21 years.

 

_Police Report September, Saturday 14th_  
Report Nr° 2684  
Burnt Car found on - approx. one fatality  
Kylmäkoski, Valtatie 9 

On Valtatie 9 a burnt car was found yesterday evening. Police are still investigating. Licence tags have been destroyed so the holder couldn’t be located yet. Police further report that parts of a body have been found close to the car. So far it is unknown if the destruction of the body was caused by an accident or if homicide is included.

Please contact Pirkanmaa Police Department if you believe you can provide further information.  
  
  


 

_Diary Dominic J. Howard  
September, Monday 16th_

We left early in Holmsund for Mo i Rana. The next days are going to consist of long rides, so I stocked up on supplies and blankets. I hope we won’t be forced to camp out for a few nights. They’re chill and Matt needs proper rest between driving.

It’s a shame we lost a few days in Gothenburg due to Matt’s cold. If this current landscape is anything to go by, the Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park would be a good place to rest for a day or two. Maybe we can return for a holiday some time.

 

_Diary Dominic J. Howard  
September, Wednesday 18th_

We ended up driving without any accommodation to Mo i Rana where we found a small bed and breakfast.

Matt was out cold as soon as his head hit the pillow. I was tempted to go out and spend a few hours at the Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park. But I’ll pass. Taking advantage of a comfy bed with a warm mate pressed against you sounds more tempting right now.

 

_Diary Dominic J. Howard  
September, Thursday 19th_

On the road again.

Matt has still not told me where exactly we’re headed. He’s always been talking about a search, but we’re not even looking for clues or hints to bring us closer to the Library Obscura. I’m not sure if we’re driving through these countries aimlessly or if there is indeed a destination Matt has in mind.

I tried asking him a few times, but he ends the conversation rather quickly and just refers to him being a librarian. In moments like this, I sometimes wonder if I trust him more than he’ll ever trust me…

And thus we’re always going further north.

 

_Diary Matthew J. Bellamy  
20th September, Friday_

Arrived in Skarsvåg on Magerøya. Drove all day with only a few quick naps. Dominic is already asleep. Still have to do preparations for tomorrow. Spell is remembered, need to organise boat to Knivskjellodden, need to find shop with candles, feathers, ink. Brought parchment from home last spring.

 

_Diary Matthew J. Bellamy  
21st September, Saturday_

Back from Knivskjellodden and frozen to the bones. I can hardly hold the pen, my fingers are still that cold. At least the excursion was a success. I had been afraid we wouldn’t make it in time, but a straight way towards Knivskjellodden would have broken the spell even before I began writing it down.

Dominic found something that he would feel comfortable using. He copied the instructions and recipe and once we’ve caught up with sleep, we'll be off for a new journey to find the ingredients. Unless Dominic wants to stay a little longer. He seems to have taken a shine to the landscape.

He also wonders why I took a book from the library with me. But how would you find the Library Obscura again without? In order to return a book, you need to borrow one. And I think we’ll have to do the trip again once I’m done with “The Chronicles of Ancient Creation”.

Oh, that library…

The smell of old paper and leather, parchment and wood still lingers in my nose.

Sometimes I miss my hometown library and the peace and quiet it provides.

But there’s someone snoring on the bed next to me that I’d miss more than any library.


End file.
